Skip to main content

anet Street-Porter explains exactly why women (herself included) don't want to be MPs

Now, if you were a smart girl, would you be tempted to consider a career in politics?
A chance to shape the way our country is run? After all, we can hardly complain women’s views aren’t heard if we don’t get stuck in at the coal face.
I’m regularly asked why I’m not interested — but, frankly, the prospect of suspending rational thought, behaving like a lemming, and having to take seriously those prats who continually spout  party-line twaddle (Ed Miliband, Danny Alexander, Ed Balls, Vince Cable and George Osborne to name but a handful) seems less appealing than having my toenails pulled out or sharing a bedsit with Jeremy Clarkson.
The prospect of having to take seriously those prats who continually spout party-line twaddle seems less appealing than having my toenails pulled out
The prospect of having to take seriously those prats who continually spout party-line twaddle seems less appealing than having my toenails pulled out
The situation is dire. Currently, the number of female MPs — just one in five — lags way below comparable European countries.
Our supposedly new and ‘transparent’ Government is as full of macho spin-doctors and advisers as Gordon Brown’s, and David Cameron seems unable to attract female voters, because he has dithered over quotas on boards, made cuts to child benefit and legal aid, and has very few women in the Cabinet.
Although Cameron said during his trip to India that Samantha nags him about this lack of girl power, he seems unable to deliver anything more than good intentions.
Now, the Lib Dems are engulfed in a scandal that demonstrates how they may not be exactly  pro-women either.
Women like Jo Swinson and Harriet Harman have to 'shut up and fit in'
Women like Jo Swinson and Harriet Harman have to 'shut up and fit in'
Women like Jo Swinson and Harriet Harman have to 'shut up and fit in'
A group of female party activists (how aspiring MPs try to get a foot on the ladder) have come forward alleging they were the subject of unwelcome sexual advances by the party’s former boss, Lord Rennard, dating back to 2004. Lord Rennard denies the allegations. 
Doesn’t this sound horribly familiar? After years, it took a television documentary that included one brave woman describing her abuse by Jimmy Savile for the floodgates to finally open.
But all too often, when a young woman complains of being preyed upon by a powerful man she is not believed. There will be suspicions she was complicit.
Channel Four News has broadcast allegations claiming a female party candidate was ‘intimately groped’ by Rennard in 2004, when he was the party’s chief executive. Two more say the same thing happened in 2007. A female intern says he propositioned her at a party conference and she left in tears.
Ironically, when complaints reached the Chief Whip and Jo Swinson, now Minister for Women and Equalities, nothing was made public and we do not know if any action took place to prevent it happening again.
Politicians move in secretive ways to protect their powerful allies and donors — ways that do not encourage ordinary women (and men) to cause a stink if they want to get a chance at a parliamentary seat. They have to shut up and fit in.
At last, the Lib Dems are holding an independent inquiry into these allegations, but Lord Rennard stood down ‘for health and family’ reasons in 2009, so it’s a bit late in the day.
How can we be sure this kind of thing doesn’t still go on in Westminster; swept under the carpet at the old boys’ club?
I had a good laugh when Harriet Harman appeared on The Andrew Marr Show spouting about plans to make all broadcasters list the number of women aged over 50 who present their programmes.
Harriet leads Labour’s Commission On Older Women (they haven’t bothered to speak to me, I wonder why?) and is determined to ‘name and shame’ broadcasters who refuse to put more older women on screen.
Maybe she should start looking closer to home — down the corridor from her office in Portcullis House. Instead of whingeing about the lack of female perspective in the broadcast media, she should start wondering why there’s a gaping hole in her own backyard.
A Freedom Of Information Request reveals that parliamentary computers accessed hardcore porn sites 2,500 times and gay cruising sites 3,500 times in the year to July 2012. In seven months, there were 52,000 visits to a site for men and women seeking extra-marital sex.
Does this sound like a congenial place for a young and ambitious woman to work? No wonder that the majority of new businesses in the UK are being started by women. Even if it means financial risk and long hours, at least this way they are in charge.

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o